Israel Snir, who is recognized as the pioneer of the Tilapia aquaculture and processing industry in Israel and worldwide, paid a special visit today to the Church of the “loaves and fishes” in Tabgha (Church of the Multiplication on The Banks of the Sea of Galilee) to strengthen the hands of the local people. Snir brought a large consignment of fish and loaves to the grateful clergy.

Tilapia Saint Peter’s Fish – The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes

Snir said: “The move is meant to show solidarity with the pain of the church, in alignment with the preservation of this special place, and as a moral duty to express our opposition to the recent expressions of hatred and violence towards the church – and ask for forgiveness, though we have no direct involvement.

“I came as an individual, not on behalf of any organization but my conscience. I want to atone for the vandalism and to express the disgust and insult to the basic values ​​of all human society, with hopes to repair the damage to the reputation of Aquaculture in Israel, and to minimize further damage to the tourism industry and the degradation to Israel’s world image.”

After meeting the leaders of the church, Snir said: “Aggressive and violent, extremist fanatics hit Christian neighbors’ sacred site in an attempt to destroy a subtle but long-standing relationship based on mutual respect for human dignity – whatever our faith may be. They struck the church and its property – but not its spirit, they attempted to break the common faith that allowed for the harmonious life we have shared.”

Snir offered condolences, gratitude and sympathy with the pain of the church. “In recognition with the preservation of this miraculous place, we feel a moral obligation to say clearly that we are opposed to any expressions of hatred and violence towards you – and we ask for your forgiveness. We have come to revive the miracle again – we offer your church a symbolic gift of bread and fish!”

Israel is well known as the holy country due to its many places sacred to believers of Christianity, among them the Bread and Fish Church on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. But the church is much more than another holy site. Burning the church is a serious blow not only to the church but to many others all over the world for whom the story of the miracle of the loaves and fishes is a source of faith, inspiration, but first of all a source of life.

The miracle, in simple form, as recounted in the New Testament:

“But, lest we cause them to stumble, go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a shekel: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.” (Matthew 17:27)

Israel Snir, who was born on Kibbutz Neve Eitan of the Beit She’an Valley, a pioneer of the industry in the country, took the Tilapia, established a first in its class industrial processing factory named “Dag Shean” which lead the way to the first ever Tilapia fillet product to be introduced to the US and Europe and to the creation of one of the major seafood products produced and consumed today.

Over the last thirty years, the fish, known by names such as Ammon, Musht, Tilapia, Saint Peter’s Fish, has become the most important fish species globally, grown and locally consumed in more than 100 countries.

The Indian aquaculture industry is one of the most promising industries on global scale. As Indian Carps has gained tremendous popularity among different cuisines, government is taking initiatives to further elevate the demand of Indian aquacultured species. The subsidies and assistance provided by the government for development of aquaculture has been driving its growth in the industry. Both the Central and the State Government have undertaken several policy initiatives and measures to boost the growth of fisheries industry of India.

Various initiatives like Development of Freshwater Aquaculture, implemented by Fish Farmers Development Agencies (FFDAs), is an important scheme in inland sector. In order to boost inland fish production, assistance in the form of subsidy is given to the fish farmers for construction of new ponds, renovation of ponds and tanks, on first year inputs (fish seed, fertilizers, manures, etc.), integrated fish farming, running water fish culture, establishment of fish seed hatcheries and fish feed mills, etc. Hence, the fish farmers are motivated towards culturing the fishes and acquiring the above benefits, thus demanding more aquafeed. Also, based on the expected growth in the aquaculture industry in the country, the demand for aquafeed is bound to increase in the future.

The report “India Commercial Aquafeed Market Outlook 2018″ provides an indepth and rational analysis of the commercial aquafeed market in India. It covers market forecast till 2018 for the production of major aquacultured finfishes like carps, tilapia and catfishes, along with aquacultured shellfish. Since the aquaculture production is expected to increase in the future, the production and consumption of commercial aquafeed is also bound to increase. Thus, the report also covers commercial aquafeed market forecast till 2018, which has been further fragmented into commercial finfish feed and commercial shrimp feed market.

The forecast for production and consumption of commercial finfish (i.e. carps, tilapia & catfish) feed have been drawn till 2018. A section about the major ingredients used in commercial finfish feed and their inclusion rate to generate a brief understanding of the kind of ingredients that will be in demand has also been provided in the report. Further, an overview of the drivers and the government initiatives, which have the capacity to put the industry on a growth trajectory, has also been given. We have also identified the challenges faced by the industry along with a brief overview of the FCR of various finfishes. The report also covers business overview of various well known industry players.

April 27, 2015 – PANAMA CITY, Panama — Open-ocean tilapia producer Aquasense Panama, S. de R.L., an affiliate of the U.S. holding company Aquasense International Corp., has begun site preparation at its Gulf of Panamá ocean site in the Republic of Panamá, where the company plans to develop the seafood industry’s first-ever open-ocean project for farm-raised saltwater tilapia products for the USA market.

Las Perlas Archipelago, Gulf of Panamá

“Our project has been gaining traction since we announced it last year and, thanks to additional seed funding, pre-ops can start,” said James F. Reilly, president and CEO of Aquasense. According to Sjef van Eijs, chief operating officer of Aquasense, “We are excited about getting in the water for site preparation and we expect to do this work on time and on budget.”

In March, the company signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Miami-based Gamma Seafood Corporation, a division of the Alfa Gamma Group, to market and distribute products resulting from this innovative project.

Aquasense Grilled SW Red Tilapia

Aquasense Panama is an early-stage aquaculture company with the mission of contributing to meeting the rising food needs of a growing world population in a sustainable manner. “We have developed a non-traditional farming method for tilapia based on our preliminary research,” said Reilly. “That research showed that, when tilapia are reared in the full salinity of the open ocean and given nutritious food, the result is a much-improved fish product in terms of both taste and texture. In 2007, we set out to change the paradigm of fish farming by bringing our operations to the pristine waters surrounding Panama.”

The project responds to predictions about world population growth and demands for seafood. “We see this project as a sustainable solution to a global problem,” said Reilly. “The U.S. Census Bureau is projecting that the global population will explode to 8 billion by the year 2020. The U.N. is projecting that the world will need an additional 40 million tons of seafood by the year 2030. With commercial fishing fleets unable to meet the growing demand, the only viable solution is aquaculture. Our mission is to contribute to meeting the rising food needs of a growing world population in a sustainable manner. We are very excited about taking the next step in bringing this important process to fruition.”

Aquasense International Corporation (“Aquasense”), the U.S. holding company of the affiliate aquaculture company, Aquasense Panamá, S. de R.L. (“Aquasense Panama”), signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Miami-based, Gamma Seafood Corporation (“Gamma Seafood”), a division of the Alfa Gamma Group, to market and distribute the seafood industry’s first ever farm-raised, saltwater red tilapia products in the USA market.

Under this LOI, Aquasense Panama will supply the Alfa Gamma Group, on an exclusive basis an estimated annual 500 tons of ocean farmed tilapia to be distributed to high-end U.S. retailers, gourmet chefs and cruise ships, starting as early as next year. By the end of the first project phase, it will supply an annual 6,000 tons. All product will consist of sustainably farm-raised red tilapia, grown in open-ocean and eco-friendly production systems, located in pristine waters off the Pacific coast of the Republic of Panama. The product will be offered only fresh, whole and filleted.

Aquasense Panama is an early stage aquaculture company with the mission to contribute to meeting the rising food needs of a growing world population in a sustainable manner. In 2007, it set out to change the paradigm of fish farming, by bringing their fish farming operations to the pristine waters surrounding Panama. Considered a non-traditional farming method for tilapia, their preliminary research showed that when tilapia are reared in the full salinity of the open ocean and fed nutritious feeds, the result is a very much improved fish product, in terms of taste and texture.

The Alfa Gamma Group owns and operates SQF and BRC certified facilities and fishing fleets in Panamá, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Suriname and Mexico. Alfa Gamma’s headquarters are located in Miami, FL within five miles of the Miami International Airport and 12 miles from the Port of Miami. Alfa Gamma’s 85,000 square foot headquarters include an SQF Level 3 modern processing facility that receives and processes 20 to 50 thousand pounds of fresh seafood per day, includes a 5 million pound freezer storage facility and is staffed with an experienced and dedicated sales and logistic force servicing customers in North America and abroad. For more about Alfa Gamma Group contact Santiago Alvarez at (305)888-6789.

A 2014 report on aquaculture in Egypt presents some interesting information:

Despite the pressure on water, Egypt has the largest aquaculture industry in Africa with a market value of over $1.3 billion.

The industry now provides 65% of the country’s fish needs, with virtually all the output coming from small and medium-scale privately owned farms.

The main farmed fish is Nile tilapia and Egypt is the world’s second largest producer of farmed tilapia after China. Grey mullet and carp are also farmed, sometimes in mixed ponds with tilapia.

From small levels of production in the early 1990s fish farming has expanded rapidly while capture fishing has remained fairly constant, even declining somewhat after peaking at the beginning of the 21st century.

Aquaculture is also important in providing employment to an estimated 100,000 people of whom 50% are youth.

With the exception of Fayoum, aquaculture takes place in the Nile Delta region and mainly around the Northern Lakes area.

Capture fisheries in Egypt are in decline due to; overfishing, pollution, illegal, unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU), relaxation in the implementation of laws and regulations, lack of interest in clearing Straits and waterways, poor sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture, illegal fishing operations of fry. In addition to the building of Aswan High Dam (that reduced the annual flood cycle of the Nile), the application of partial pond flushing, aeration and sex reversal are the major steps that contributed to the expansion,
intensification and growth of total tilapia production in ponds in Egypt.

The General Authority for Fish Resources Development (GAFRD) planned two-sided strategy aims to increase the productivity of freshwater aquaculture operations, while encouraging investment in marine aquaculture.

A cooperation agreement between Egypt’s General Authority for Fish Resources Development (GAFRD) and Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) inked in May sets a framework for joint fisheries development. The protocol encourages researchers, trainers and quality control technicians in the two countries to share data, and calls for exchange visits of fisheries and aquaculture officials

A series of high quality aquaculture training videos, designed to teach Egyptian fish farmers the industry’s best management practices, has recently been released.

Produced by WorldFish, an international nonprofit research organization, the ten short videos are being used to train local fish farmers in the most effective ways to boost the production and quality of farmed fish.

Available in Arabic with English subtitles, the videos cover all aspects of aquaculture from pond preparation and fish health care, to how to transport and handle live fish.

“These videos are good learning tool for fish farmers to show them the industry’s best management practices in a simplified way”, says Dr. Diaa Al-Kenawy, Research Scientist at WorldFish.

“Both the trainers and the farmers found the videos very useful because they explain all fish farming stages from site selection and pond design to harvest and post-harvest treatment”, he adds.

The videos are part of the Improving Employment and Income through the Development of Egypt’s Aquaculture Sector (IEIDEAS) project, which aims to strengthen and develop the country’s US$1.5 billion aquaculture industry and generate more employment in the sector.

The IEIDEAS project is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock and Fish, which aims to increase the productivity of small-scale livestock and fish systems in sustainable ways, making meat, milk and fish more available and affordable to poor consumers across the developing world.

Strengthening the aquaculture industry in Egypt will help to secure the livelihoods of over 100,000 men and women employed in the sector, and ensure an affordable source of animal protein for the millions of poor who depend on fish.

While the videos are targeted at Egyptian fish farmers, they offer industry tips that will benefit pond-based aquaculture producers around the world.

WorldFish, a member of the CGIAR Consortium, is an international, nonprofit research organization committed to reducing poverty and hunger through fisheries and aquaculture.

About CGIAR

CGIAR is a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future. Its science is carried out by the 15 research centers who are members of the CGIAR Consortium in collaboration with hundreds of partner organizations.

Luanda — The first National Centre for Tilapia Hatchery will be inaugurated on Friday in Massangano commune, Cambambe municipality, northern Cuanza Norte province, Angop learnt on Thursday.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Fisheries, the project, an investment estimated at 10 million US dollars, will have a juvenile fish production unit (newly hatched fish) Tilapia.

The First National Tilapia Hatchery Centre will have an installed capacity of an annual output of two million of juvenile fish of quality, to enhance the aquaculture sector, specifically in the promotion of freshwater fish culture.

In Angola, aquaculture is listed as one of the priority sub-sectors and can play an important role in the diversification of the economy, with the potential to intense development, turning the country into a major producing nation of fish.

Aquaculture also aims to integrate its products in the supply chain of fisheries, aiming to reduce imports and create surpluses for exports.

The undertaking is the first of its kind infrastructure in the country, equipped with the latest technology and highly qualified professional teams and has a valence of research focused on training future researchers and others of the fisheries sector.

Investment combines the economic aspect of intensive production with the relevant scientific and social aspects, being generator of new job opportunities.

Hot on the heels of the launch of the floating raft cage culture system in November and an awareness building event for locally produced tilapia targeted at restaurants and supermarkets two weeks ago, last week, Devant Maharaj, the Minister of Food Production in Trinidad unveiled three other initiatives.

In his unprecedented and unrelenting efforts to support the long neglected Aquaculture Sector, Minister Maharaj commissioned a refurbished facility originally established in the 1950’s and re-branding it as the Aquaculture Demonstration Centre.

At the same event, there was also the signing of a MoU among several of his Ministry agencies and the predominant farmers group for the purchase of farmed tilapia, processing of the fish and subsequent sale of the product under a newly created TT Tilapia brand. These are all bold and never before seen initiatives in the aquaculture industry anywhere in the world and many countries would do well to pay attention to this model for aquaculture support and development.

Though introduction of tilapia in Nepal has passed over a decade, its cultivation has not flourished. There is a general fear of displacement of indigenous fish species. Swar and Gurung (1988) found the reduction of 42 % in the yield of Mystus spp. and Puntius spp. after introduction of bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) in the Begnas lake of Pokhara valley. But biology of tilapia favors for its cultivation in Nepal. The climatic condition in hilly regions can control to an extent the over breeding activity of the fish. The minimum temperature of tolerance for Tilapia is 10ºC – 11ºC. It cannot survive below this temperature. The physiological condition can easily be exploited in Nepalese subtropical climate to control the population of tilapia.

For cultivation of the fish, coldwater bodies can be selected where temperature is rather favorable during summer for growth. Those water bodies can be used for stocking tilapia for 7-8 months and the fish would be harvested during winter months. Temperature below 10ºC will kill the remaining fish after the harvest and there will be no fear of wild propagation. Their population will be controlled naturally.

Terai region can be utilized for brood fish stocking and seed production. In this way seed production in Terai and grow out production in hilly region will be the best combination for tilapia cultivation without the fear of displacement of the indigenous fish species of the country.

Polyculture opportunities in the mid-hills of Nepal for resource poor farmers

Nepal is a country of intense poverty and political upheaval. Many people live below the poverty level and there are many nongovernmental organizations at work within the borders of the country attempting to decrease the number of poor through the arming of the people with the tools necessary to become self-sufficient and raise their income levels while at the same time doing so in a way that improves social cohesion and the overall health of the population. I examined various methods and protocols for improving the living standards of the resource poor farmers with a focus on the utilization of aquaculture as a means to improve income, supplement diet and provide social stability and personal growth. The paper presents a suitable low cost solution to the issues facing resource poor farmers in Nepal through the establishment of an aquaculture network, with less reliance in inputs than more intensive practices.